But when I tasted Pain d'epices, I realized not all fruitcake is equal. A traditional French Christmas bread, this treat is like a gingerbread-fruitcake mash-up. It's fluffy like cake, packed with spices, and gets bold flavors from dried fruits and toasted almonds. It's basically fruitcake—only delicious.

The star behind this bread (or at least the game-changing version I tasted) is Kamel Saci. He grew up eating pain d'espices in France, and brought it to New York City's Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, where he's the master baker. "It's my parents' favorite bread," he says. "We boil some wine with cinnamon and we drink the wine and eat the bread together."

Perhaps the best part about Saci's bread is that it's fast—no aging required—and super simple—just a quick mix of flour, baking powder and soda, eggs, and a spiced syrup made with honey, milk, and spices. (The milk gives it a richer, more tender texture, and the honey adds a few floral flavors.)

Photo by Chelsea Kyle

But while this bread is simple to make, there are three keys to making it perfectly. Nail these, and you'll be enjoying better-than-fruitcake bread this year—and every year after.

Make It Fast

The key to this bread is working quickly, so pull everything together before you start. As soon as the syrup comes to a boil, strain it directly over the dry ingredients, then gently whisk everything together. Add the eggs as fast as you can and slide it into the oven. "It's very important to have everything hot, because it's going to activate the baking soda," explains Kamel. "If you wait until the mixture cools down, it will never rise."

Use Great Spices

It's called spiced bread for a reason: the most important ingredients are the spices, which give it a gingerbread-like flavor. For his pain d'epices, Kamel partnered with New York City spice blender La Boîte, using their Reims No. 39 blend. Named for the northern French town pain d'epices was originally created in, the blend is a mixture of honey, star anise, ginger, cinnamon, and other spices, and adds really beautiful flavor to the bread. It's easily available online, but you can also use a combination of cinnamon and ginger to create a similar flavor.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle

Pack It With Fruit and Nuts

To add more flavor to his bread, Kamel packs it with dried apricots, dried plums, toasted almonds, and dried orange. "I use this because it's a mix of different flavors and textures, but you can put whatever you want," he says. "You can put figs, you can put walnuts, or pistachios." The only thing you can't put in? Too little. The fruit and nuts should account for about 20 percent of the batter.